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Kinderverzorgingsartikelen.

Child care articles are defined in the collected interpretations of CEN/TC 252 standards as:

Items for infants and toddlers from birth to 48 months who are a very vulnerable group in society.

Items within this description are intended to facilitate sleep, relaxation and feeding, as well as sucking by children. Examples of such products include pacifiers, drinking and eating utensils and furniture for children.

European guidelines.

Childcare articles fall within the scope of the European General Product Safety Directive 2001/95. The General Product Safety Directive requires economic operators to place only safe products on the European market. Safe products, under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, do not pose unacceptable safety risks to consumers.

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What can we help our clients with?

  • Building product compliance protocol
  • Validation & verification of technical documentation
  • Meet minimum legal requirements
  • Zero measurement & risk analysis
  • Internal audit
  • Handling complaints and recalls
  • Audit support
  • Training

 

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Security risks

Babies and young children are a vulnerable target group. They are not yet able to set boundaries, to signal dangers and do not know how to avoid a dangerous situation. It is therefore important to have good safety requirements for products used by and for this target group. When assessing the safety of child care products, we know of several types of hazard:

1. Physical hazards

Physical hazards refer to the design of your product and the parts of the product that pose a safety risk. Examples include suffocation from dislodged small parts or strangulation from a cord that is too long.

2. Mechanical hazards

Mechanical hazards relate to the operation of your product. Examples include entrapment of body parts (such as fingers, arms or legs) or falling from height from playpens or chairs without proper fall protection.

3. Chemical hazards

Babies and young children discover by touching, chewing and mouthing items within their reach. It is therefore important that your product does not contain substances that have a harmful effect on health. Examples include substances that can cause an allergic reaction, such as nickel, or substances that have been found to have an adverse effect on development and reproduction, such as phthalates.

4. Thermal hazards

Thermal hazards are related to the flammability of materials used and thermal properties of your product. Examples include burns from highly flammable materials or overheating from a sleeping bag that is too warm.

5. Hygiene

Babies and young children have lower resistance than adults and are susceptible to infections. For this target group, good hygiene measures are especially important. Child care items should therefore be designed to be easily cleaned. Contamination and infections can occur, for example, if a bottle or changing pad cannot be cleaned properly.

What are your obligations?

Do you import or manufacture children's products? Or do you have children's products designed, manufactured or marketed under your brand name? If so, take these steps:

1. Define your product.

Based on the design, function and features of your product, determine if it is intended as a children's item. It is important to determine which age group your product is intended for. This is an essential step in the process of creating a safe product.

Older children are less susceptible to specific hazards due to a higher level of development. The minimum safety requirements for a product vary by age category . Classifying a product in the wrong age category can cause you to draw incorrect conclusions about the product's safety.

2. Conduct a risk assessment.

In risk assessment, you identify the potential hazards that your product may present. In doing so, you also consider the child's potential exposure to these hazards under normal use. The risk assessment considers the following points:

  • The child's developmental stage such as ability, weight and age,
  • the intended or foreseeable use of the product,
  • The possible physical, mechanical, chemical and thermal hazards,
  • The effect on other products or environment in which the product is used.
3. Determine the appropriate standard.

The safety requirements for Child Care articles cover the five hazard categories. For various product groups, these safety requirements are laid down in European or national standards. A child care article produced in accordance with the applicable safety standards meets the essential safety requirements.

4. Provide appropriate instructions, information and warnings.

Child care products must be accompanied by sufficient user information to allow safe use of the product, but is not intended to compensate for product defects. Mandatory text, instructions and warnings are prescribed in part by safety standards.
At a minimum, user information and warnings must be available in the official language(s) of the countries where the product is sold.

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